Standoff in Northern Cambria

Police: Man surrenders peacefully

February 13, 2014

NORTHERN CAMBRIA - A six-hour standoff between a Susquehanna Township man and state police ended peacefully Wednesday afternoon when the man turned himself in without incident, police said.

Police said Richard Goss Sr., 44, of 467 Greenwich Road was taken into custody just before 3 p.m. after hours of ignoring attempts by police to contact him.

State police Trooper Robert Kunsman said the incident began a little after 8 a.m., when a woman believed to be Goss' girlfriend contacted police about some suspicious behavior in the couple's home.

Article Photos

Mirror photo by Patrick WaksmunskiMembers of the Pennsylvania State Police Special Emergency Response Team gear up for a standoff along Greenwich Road in Susquehanna Township, Cambria County, just northwest of Northern Cambria Borough.

"She entered the residence to find disturbing things that happened ... and she felt it was not a good idea to go in the house any further," Kunsman said.

Trooper John Matchik, state police public information officer, added that the girlfriend found Goss locked inside a rear bedroom of the house.

"At that particular time, we had reason to believe there were suspicious circumstances here - a reason that law enforcement needed to be involved," he said.

A stretch of Greenwich Road was blocked off for hours, and neighbors in surrounding homes were evacuated while police attempted to reach Goss before calling in its Special Emergency Response Team.

Police said Goss made no threats and did not attempt to injure himself or others, but he wasn't responding to phone calls or commands from police.

Goss also had access to multiple weapons in the home, police said.

Goss eventually exited his home just before 3 p.m. and surrendered peacefully to police without injuring himself or others.

Police said they are continuing to investigate the incident by obtaining search warrants and interviewing Goss at their Ebensburg barracks.

Kunsman said they still are looking for a motive for the standoff.

Meanwhile, Northern Cambria School District students from the area were kept at school after hours until parents were able to pick them up.

Superintendent John Jubas said the school would not send its two buses assigned to the Greenwich Road area while the standoff was going on.

He said approximately 80 students from the elementary/middle school and high school were held at the school until parents, carrying proper identification, were able to pick them up.